But it took three tries — in 1909, 1910, and finally, 1912 — before the San Gorgonio Pass town could call itself a city.

The San Gorgonio Pass area was first surveyed in 1853. In the 1860s, the Southern Pacific Railroad laid tracks through the area that would become Beaumont. The first semblance of a town in the area of Beaumont came in 1884, when a store was built by George Egan, after he bought most of the property at the summit of the pass. He soon sold his holdings to the Southern California Investment Co.

The investment company bought at a bad time, as a real estate bust happened in California in 1888.

It retained ownership of the property and tried a land development scheme, but that failed due to, among other things, a lack of water. Then, in October 1907, the Beaumont Land and Water Co. was formed.

It immediately set about securing a reliable water source and bringing life back to the town and the area at large.

This new investment in Beaumont bore fruit very quickly. The town began to grow from about 200 people in 1907 to — just two years later — 650 people. The first bank in town was formed in 1909, as well. This influx of people and business must have spurred some residents into thinking about becoming an incorporated city.

The first incorporation election was June 15, 1909. Before the election, it was announced that three tickets, or slates, of men were proposed for council members and the necessary city offices of treasurer, city clerk and marshal. One ticket called itself the independent ticket; one was the anti-incorporation ticket. A third, unnamed slate, we can assume was the incorporation ticket.

However, no ticket was needed as the final tally was 49 in favor and 74 against incorporation.

By the following year, in 1910, Beaumont’s population had reached over 1,100. The desire to become a city was still in the air. In October of that year, A. J. Burdick appeared before the County Board of Supervisors, urging it to set another incorporation election as soon as possible. He said that incorporation seemed to be the best way of providing fire protection to Beaumont, which was greatly needed. The election was Nov. 15, 1910.